Till All are One
by saberstorm
Summary: Transformers2007Movie crossover in response to a friend's challenge. He said I couldn't do it. Some Shinji x Rei romance, and plenty of robots blowing up. New extended Prologue!
1. Prolouge

Till All are One

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or Eva.

Prologue

_Before Time began, there was… the Cube._

_The Allspark. It's origins are unknown to us. All we know was that it had the power to create planets and those that could seed them with life. That is how our race was born._

_It chose our Creator, Pimus, our Seed, to guard it._

_It chose us._

_But like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil._

_Thus the Great War began._

_It raged until our planet was consumed by death and destruction. The loss was undeniable; Cybertron was destroyed. Primus was forced to jettison the Allspark, causing it to be lost among the stars._

_We scattered into the galaxy, hoping to find it and rebuild our home. We searched every star, every world. Just when all hope was lost, message of a new discovery brought us to an unknown planet called Earth._

_But we were already to late._

* * *

**Antarctica, 2000 A.D.**

"Run, get out of here!"

"Everyone, Evacuate! Evacuate!"

"Covering fire!"

"Daaadddyyyy!"

Captain Katsuragi saw his daughter running toward him. He hurried towards her. "Misato-chan, run! We have to get out of here!"

**"You will not contain me!"**

There was another explosion, and Captain Katsuragi watched in horror as a piece of shrapnel sliced into his daughter's chest.

"Aaahhhh!"

He picked up his daughter and grabbed his radio. "We're out of time! Prepare Plan X!" _Heaven help me, for what I am about to do._

**"Insects! Begone!"**

Another explosion.

Rushing to the escape pods, Captain Katsuragi was relieved to see that there was still one left. He put his daughter in it, and tried to make her as comfortable and as stable as possible. He didn't know much first aid, but he knew enough to keep her alive.

She looked up at him, "Daddy?"

He shook his head, "I'm sorry, Misato-chan. I failed you. I failed your mother. Just know this. I love you, and I always will."

"Daddy!"

He closed the hatch and activated the distress beacon before shoving his daughter out to sea. Then he turned around and headed back. _I failed my daughter, my wife, and my mentor. My mentor, the only man to ever live long enough to be a great-great-great-grandfather. He explored the Arctic Circle, and then he explored here. He became insane, and now I know why._

He climbed into a crane that held a large, bronze lance and began working at the controls. Then he heard a voice behind him.

**"You! Lilum, tell me! What have you done with the Allspark!"**

Gathering his courage, Captain Katsuragi turned and glared into the blood red optics behind him. "You will never have the Allspark, you monster!" He pulled the lever, and the crane swung around, the bronze lance skewering the monster in his chest.

**"Aaaahhhhhhhggggggg!"**

He knew that using the lance would cause an explosion to melt Antarctica, but it was a small price to pay to prevent the destruction of the world. Then, Captain Katsuragi noticed that the dying beast was sending a transmission. _I have failed again, _he thought.

**"PRIIIIMME!"**

The beast exploded, and a raging wall of death raged toward him, but he welcomed it.

His last words where those that he often heard from his mentor's lips.

"No Sacrifice, No Victory."

Far away, deep in space, something awoke from its slumber after hearing a transmission from its master. The transmission bore only two words and a location.

The words: **Decepticons, Mobilize.**

The location: Japan, Earth.

* * *

**GEHRIN, Japan, 2002 A.D.**

Rei Ayanami waited patiently as she listened to the muffled arguments of the adults inside the room. She absentmindedly rubbed her eyes, they were hurting again. She knew it was a side affect of her activation, but it was one she wished she didn't have to deal with. She began to wonder if she should request glasses. GEHRIN would probably grant them. GEHRIN was a research facility formed by SEELE after the Katsuragi Expedition to Antarctica. They were responsible for the research they did, and she, Rei, was a part of it.

Having the appearance of a 10 or 11 year old was often deceiving, when she was actually hardly 4. She was, at best, an accidental experiment caused during the study of a giant, extraterrestrial artifact that seamed to bring mechanical things to life. As a test of its potential, her body was assembled from various cloned organs and mechanical parts, and placed near the artifact. As a result, she was given life. She was an attempt to understand the mechanical being that was found in Antarctica by the surprisingly long lived Archibald Whitwicky. It was believed he lived as long as he did due to his exposure to the artifact that brought her to life.

Her caretaker, Dr. Yui Ikari, who had a Ph.D. in Genetic Engineering, worked for GEHRIN to study the artifact, and was in charge of the Ayanami Project to study it's life-giving properties. That was the reason why Rei was waiting outside her caretaker's office today. Rei was disoriented, and slightly disabled, upon her activation because she was born instantly as a 5 year old. It took two years of therapy for her to get used to walking upright, and she was still trying to learn how to talk. Dr. Ikari had a theory that a newborn would not have the same problems. Today was the scheduled day that, Rei hoped, would put a baby sister in her arms.

Getting impatient – it was no easy feat to make her feel that way – she reached out a hand and opened the door a crack. She instantly wished she hadn't, as she could suddenly understand the arguing voices inside.

"I caught you with your PANTS DOWN, Gendo!"

"Yui, I'm sorry!"

"Don't you sorry me! Now look! I'm late for Rei's appointment! Get out, before I kill you in my disgusted, hormonal rage!"

"Still the scientist, even when angry. That's what I love about you."

"GET OUT, YOU CHEATING, LYING, SORRY PLAYBOY EXCUSE FOR A SON OF A BITCH!"

A very scared Gendo Ikari almost knocked her over as he ran out of the office and down the hall. Rei watched for a second, before turning and walking into the office, closing the door behind her. Dr. Ikari sat behind her desk, her elbows propped up on her desk, her hands folded in front of her mouth (Gendo would later adopt this same pose), and her eyes closed as she took several calming breaths. Rei sat down in a chair and waited patiently.

"How much did you hear?" Dr. Ikari asked, not opening her eyes. She knew who was there.

"Only the end," Rei answered truthfully. "Why did he have his pants down?"

"You don't want to know," Dr. Ikari said. "I wish I didn't know. Don't say a word about it to anyone."

Rei nodded, "Understood."

Dr. Ikari opened her eyes and let her hands down, smiling at the girl in front of her. "Are you excited?"

Excited. Was that what she felt? She still had a lot of trouble understanding emotions. Finally, she smiled and nodded, "Yes, I believe that is what I am feeling."

"Let's go then," Dr. Ikari made the attempt to rise, but slumped back into the chair. "On second thought, I think I need some help." Rei nodded and helped the older woman to her feet. Dr. Ikari was a stubbornly independent woman, but she was also very pregnant right now.

"Dr. Ikari, may I…?" Rei raised her hand. Dr. Ikari smiled at the blue haired girls curiosity and nodded. Rei placed her hand on the scientist's swollen belly. "He kicked!" she gasped in delight.

"Any day now," Dr. Ikari said, leading Rei out of her office and down the hall. After passing several security door that only three people could get past, they arrived at their destination. The Room of Guaf. Rei shivered as they entered, the door sealing behind them. Behind the screens around the room was an 'aquarium' of sorts that contained the several failures. In the center was a table filled with medical equipment and a glowing incubator, filled with a glowing blue substance. "Wait here, Rei," Dr. Ikari instructed before moving to the center of the room. She began moving with precision with the equipment. Rei heard the hum of machines, and then saw a bright flash of light. She covered her face with her hands, not wanting to see another failure. This was their last chance for her to get a baby sister. The artifact was being moved to Germany tomorrow. This was their last chance. Then, she heard something she had never heard before.

The sound of an infant crying.

A few minutes later, Dr. Ikari turned and gave Rei a small bundle wrapped up in a blanket. The infant's stared up at her with eyes as red as hers. Rei felt something on her cheeks. She put her hand up, and it came away wet. "Dr. Ikari, why am I crying? I don't feel sad."

"You're crying because you are happy," Dr. Ikari replied, leaning on a wall. "Congratulations, Rei."

Rei stroked her new little sister's head, feeling the fuzz that would eventually become blue locks of hair like hers. "Welcome to the world, Rei Ayanami II," she said. She smiled at her caretaker, which instantly became a look of concern. "Are you all right, Dr. Ikari?"

The older woman nodded, "I'll be fine. I just need to…" A look of realization suddenly crossed the scientist's face. "Rei, I need your help to call the medical wing. I think your little sister won't be the only baby born today."


	2. Tampering With Divine Power

Till All are One

Summary: Their war, our world. Some have come to protect us. The rest have come to destroy us. What neither side knew is that we knew they were coming. The battle begins again, and we are ready to fight back.

* * *

Chapter 1: Tampering With Divine Power

**GEHRIN, Japan, 2005 A.D.**

"Are you sure you want to go through with this? I could try again. Perhaps I might succeed, unlike what happened with Unit 00."

Yui looked at the person who addressed her, a young woman about 14 years old, her blue haired 3 year old sister in her arms. "It will be all right. I'm sure the modifications will work."

"By using an artificial, empty spark?" the girl asked.

"Do you have a better idea?" Yui countered.

"My sister can pilot Unit 00, why can't she pilot Unit 01?"

"I don't want to put children in danger," Yui answered. "We hoped you'd be able to pilot Unit 00, so you would be old enough when they arrive. Unfortunately though, you are unable to pilot at all."

"Yet they can, and my sister must."

"If I can make Unit 01 work, your sister may not even have to be in battle," Yui consoled.

"And if this fails?"

Yui sighed, "I am prepared to accept the consequences."

"Even if it means that they will conscript your own son?"

"They just might anyway."

Sealing the plugsuit that she wore, Yui headed toward the activation room. On her way there, she heard an excited yell.

"Momma!"

Yui smiled and knelt down to receive her son's hug. "Momma, you feel funny," he said, squeaking the rubber on the plugsuit between his fingers.

"Your son is… energetic," said a voice. Both mother and son looked to see a graying man with a visor across his eyes approach them. He smiled and bent down to offer his hand to the boy, "I don't believe we've met before, young man." The child, scared, ran and hid behind his mother.

Laughing Yui grabbed her son's hand and pulled him out from behind her. "Shinji, don't be rude. This is Secretary of Defense Keele from SEELE."

"Hi," Shinji said shyly, taking Keele's hand and shaking it. They began walking again. Yui kept a firm grip on her son's hand as she talked to Keele.

"How are things with the Committee?" she asked.

"Things have died down in the UN, so we'll be transferring power back to them slowly," Keele replied. In the wake of Second Impact, several nations had gone to war against each other in what was now called World War III. After it waged for two years, all fighting suddenly ceased when the organization called SEELE stepped in. Like most conspiracy theories, SEELE was the true power behind the UN. However, their primary motivation was not their own ambitions. They believed that it was their duty and responsibility to consistently ensure the continuous prosperity of all mankind. Because of this, SEELE rarely interfered in the governments of the world, staying on the sidelines and watching, waiting for when they needed to step in. After World War III, SEELE sized control over the UN in order to stop the fighting that would have finished what Second Impact started. It was also then that many secrets of SEELE were revealed, such as the fact that Hitler represented Germany before World War II, but was removed from power by the other members of SEELE when he set his own beliefs above the Committee's. SEELE then took steps to manipulate the governments of the world to ensure the defeat of the Nazi Germany Hitler had created.

"Are we sure that the threat is real?" Yui asked.

Keele sighed, stepping into the room they were passing and motioning for Yui to follow. She told Shinji to wait for her and did so. Opening his suitcase, Keele pulled out his laptop and powered it up. "What do you know of the Mars Rover?"

"It was planned to be launched in 2004, but World War III set back the schedule so much, the project was almost forgotten," Yui answered. "After you and the rest of SEELE seized control in 2002, you gave it such a high priority that it was launched at the beginning of this year. Several months ago, it crashed, a failed mission. Immediately, you requested that I and several other scientists begin Project E."

"That's what we told the world, but just like the common story that a meteor caused Second Impact, it was a cover up," Keele told her, pulling up a video file. "The rover transmitted 13 seconds, classified above Top Secret: Red."

Yui gasped, "What's higher than Red?"

"Black," Keele answered, pressing the play button.

By the time the recording was finished, there was no doubt in Yui's mind that they were doing the right thing.

* * *

"Oooooo! Big Mecha!"

Inside the cockpit, Yui laughed at her son's words, "Yes, Shinji, it is a big mecha." _About 12 to 14 meters tall. Hopefully, you'll never have to be inside of it._

"What's the kid doing here?" someone asked.

"I brought him," Yui answered. "He is my son, after all. I'm ready to begin."

"Roger. Initiating sealing process."

"Cockpit sealed. Connect the LCL tubes."

"Tubes connected. Flooding Cockpit."

Blue liquid poured in, slowly filling the cockpit until Yui was submerged in it. She had to force herself to breathe it, as it tasted slightly like oil, and smelled like it to.

"Everything all right."

"Yes," Yui replied. "Let's do this."

"Good luck, Momma!" Shinji yelled. Yui smiled.

"Evangelion Unit 01: Activate!"

The LCL around her began to spark and light up, and then pain shot through her. She could hardly hear the panicked cries of the techs as she was pulled, stretched, compressed, and ripped apart.

And then the pain was gone. She was looking directly at the observation window, seeing the scared faces of everyone, even her own son.

Then she realized what had happened. She was not seeing them with her eyes, but with her optical sensors.

She was no longer human, and she had failed. The only thing that she could do now was to shut down, and hope that they didn't take her apart while she was in stasis.

"MOMMA!"


	3. First Contact

Till All are One

Chapter 2: First Contact

**Tokyo 3, 2015**

Shockwave mentally shrugged as he continued his decent. He was certain that the humans had spotted him, but it was of no concern to him. He was here to investigate, and maybe terminate.

**Megatron followed the Allspark into space, perhaps to this planet, yet I pick up no signatures, not even Megatron's.**

**Conclusion: Megatron is either destroyed or in stasis.**

**He told us to go to Japan.**

**Hypothosis: The Allspark is not in Japan, but a clue to the true location is.**

**Conclusion: Such a clue would be heavily guarded.**

**Search for the most powerful defensive area the humans have made. All humans who oppose must be terminated.**

His search brought up some interesting information. According to his scans, the city they called Tokyo 3 was like a fortress. It almost reminded him of some cities from his homeworld, Cybertron. But it was of little matter. In spite of their defenses, the humans didn't have any weapons he needed to worry about.

**All hail Megatron.**

* * *

Shinji Ikari hung up the phone in disgust. He had tried to call his aunt and uncle to tell them that he had arrived safely, but all the lines were down. He felt frustrated. They were his family! No, they were more than that. They were his parents. 

After his mother died, his father had simply dropped him off at his relatives' house and left, saying he no longer had a use for his own son. It had hurt Shinji deeply. He went into a depression that lasted about a dozen years. He was useless, that was what he believed. He was useless, unwanted, unloved, to the point where it wouldn't even matter if he committed suicide, because no one would miss him. For most of his live, he simply existed, like a machine. He couldn't feel, he could only think. Nothing his aunt or uncle did helped, and every therapist he visited simply shook their heads and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't help him."

Until recently.

Three months ago, his father had sent him a note that read only: Come. It was signed by Commander Gendo Ikari. Shinji didn't know why the 'Commander' title was in his father's signature, but he didn't care. He was given an order, so he should obey.

For the first time, Shinji saw his uncle get angry. His enraged uncle proceeded to curse everything about Gendo in colorful language until he got to one point.

* * *

**Flashback**

_"Gendo, my sister never deserved you," his uncle said, finally calming down, and now sounding very sad._

_"What's the matter, Uncle?" Shinji asked. In spite of his inability to feel anything, he always looked out for others._

_"Your father can't order you to do anything, Shinji," his uncle answered. "It is your choice. If you don't want to go, you don't have to. Any good lawyer will side with the fact that your father has no claim over you."_

_"He ordered me to go. Shouldn't I?" Shinji asked._

_"No," his uncle said. "This will be your choice. Your mother wanted you to live happy and free. Make the choice yourself. Listen to your heart, for your mother."_

* * *

**End Flashback**

Absentmindedly, Shinji reached down the neck of his shirt and clasped the small locket that hung there. At one time, it had belonged to his mother, and had a picture of her inside. Shinji barely remembered his mother, but that day, when his father summoned him, something in him cracked. The wall that had held against years of others trying to reach out to him finally crumpled as he tried to remember his mother. He spent three weeks in mental and emotional anguish, as feelings long since denied finally came out. All the sorrow, anger, hatred, and disgust at the man he had to call father was soon spent. At the end of those three weeks, he smiled for the first time since he was left by his father.

He even tried making friends, but there was too little time before he left. He had made his decision. He would come, long enough to find out what his father wanted. When that was done, he would leave. Gendo Ikari had no hold over him.

A crash brought him out of his thoughts as he turned to see several attack choppers head towards the buildings. Something flashed from between them, and the choppers fell to the ground, destroyed. Shinji found himself staring towards a giant, faceless, robot.

_What the hell?_

"Do not worry."

He turned around to see a little girl, perhaps 5 years old with red eyes and blue hair behind him. She was wearing a small red dress, and was hugging a plush toy of some sort of black creature with a white mask.

She nodded in the distance. "Misato Katsuragi comes to pick you up and take you to your father."

"Who are you?" Shinji asked. A crash distracted him and he turned to see to more aircraft fall. He turned back towards the girl, only she wasn't there. He then noticed a car heading towards him, and jumped out of the way as it skidded to a stop, right where he had been standing moments earlier.

The driver, a purple haired woman opened the passenger door so they could see each other. "Sorry about that, I'm still not used to the steering. Are you Shinji Ikari?"

"Yes," Shinji answered.

"I'm Misato Katsuragi. Get in! We have to get out of here!"

Shinji opened his mouth to protest, seeing as he was always told to not go with strangers, but hearing another explosion changed his mind.

* * *

**You defend whatever you are hiding well humans. But in the end, it will be futile.**

Shockwave noticed a few missile pods targeting him and fired an EMP blast to wipe them out first. Then he noticed that all the defensive weapons were pulling back.

**Hypothesis: They plan to stop me by dropping a bomb.**

**Conclusion: Locate and Destroy.**

Quickly changing into his artillery form, Soundwave pointed his gun skywards until he found what he was looking for. A single shot was all that it took.

* * *

Down below Tokyo 3 were the headquarters of NERV was located, the Generals of the UN Army stared in shock. 

"It destroyed our N2 mine, BEFORE we could drop it!"

One of the generals sighed, "Very well, Ikari. You have the green light."

"Thank you," Gendo Ikari said, standing to leave for the command center. "Perhaps next time you will listen to the orders you are given by the Secretary of Defense."

* * *

Arriving at NERV, Misato swiped her card and waited for the doors to open. Shinji was still in awe of the Geofront. It was amazing that such a place existed. Sure, he had read about them in National Geographic, but to actually see one was something else. 

The doors finally opened to reveal a blonde woman wearing a lab coat. "Ritsuko? What are you doing?" Misato asked nervously."

"Making sure you don't get lost, before you get lost," the doctor answered. Ritsuko then looked at Shinji. "Is this him?"

"Yes," Misato answered. "He's the Third Child."

"Why am I here?" Shinji asked.

"We need your help," Ritsuko said.

Shinji chewed on his lip, "Does it have to do with big, dumb, and ugly upstairs?"

"Actually, yes, and your one of the few people who can help."

* * *

"Shinji, what you are about to see is completely classified." 

"Understood," he said. They had been walking for a long time, seemingly getting nowhere till they got to this door. It opened slowly to reveal a room full of people working in, on, or around what stood proudly at about 40 ft. tall in the center of the back wall. "What is that?" Shinji asked, his eyes widening.

"This is our last defense against the enemy that is currently above us," Ritsuko said. "This is the Humanoid Battle Robot Evangelion Unit 01."

"And what does this have to do with me?" Shinji asked.

"Unfortunately, only specific people can pilot Evangelions," Misato answered. "We don't know why, we only know that that's the way it is. You are one of those few people."

"So," Shinji growled, "My father called me here just to pilot this?"

"Correct," said a voice. They all looked up to the observation deck where Gendo stood. "It has been a long time."

"Not long enough!" Shinji yelled. "You bastard! Do you honestly think you can dump me and then call me back like some dog? You have no right!"

"I am your father. I have every right," Gendo said calmly.

"You are no father of mine, Gendo Rokubungi," Shinji growled. "You don't even deserve my mother's name." He turned on his heels, walking away. "I'm leaving."

"Don't."

He turned, surprised, "Huh?"

There, in the corner hugging her plush toy, was the same girl he saw right before Misato almost ran him over. "You are the only one. Unit 01 will only work for you. It will work for no one else."

"How can I pilot it? I've never even seen it before!" Shinji protested.

"Trust in your Eva, and Unit 01 will protect you," the girl answered. "Please do it, before we all die. Please."

He hung his head. Even though he didn't want to, here was a little girl, asking for his help. How could he say no? "Okay, I'll do it."

"Thank you."

"Shinji, who are you talking to?" Misato asked.

He raised his head and pointed, "I'm talking to…" He stared for a while. "There was a girl right there. Where'd she go?"

"No one was standing there the entire time," Ritsuko said.

_I could have sworn I saw someone_, Shinji thought, but he had no time to think on it as he was led away to be prepared for battle.

* * *

**These humans are becoming very annoying.**

Shockwave remained in his artillery form, waiting for the humans to make a move. If he had a choice, he would engage them in his helicopter form, but that was what alerted them to his presence in the first place.

Besides, letting them come to their deaths wasted less energy.

* * *

Shinji looked at the plugsuit that now covered his body. The rubber squeaked, reminding him of his mother, the last time he saw her. 

_Am I doing the right thing, Mom?_ he silently asked. _Would you have done the same thing? I guess you would have._

He exited the changing room to find Misato waiting for him. "You ready?" she asked.

"Let's do this," Shinji nodded.

They headed back towards the room where the Eva was, riding a platform up to the walkway that went around to the Eva's back. Misato led Shinji over to it, where techntions were preparing the cockpit.

Ritsuko stepped towards them. "Shinji, you need to wear these," she said, holding out a pair of hair clips. "The Eva works by mental commands, and these A-10 clips will boost your mental waves to improve synchronization."

Shinji simply shrugged and put them on. Entering the cockpit, he sat down in the seat and strapped himself in. If he didn't know any better, he would have said that the seat came from a sports car. The cockpit sealed behind him, engulfing him in darkness.

If there were two things Shinji feared, it was complete sensory deprivation, and drowning. _At least they aren't trying to submerge me in something_, he thought.

Then he heard a rushing sound below him, and felt some sort of liquid begin to submerge his feet.

"Oh no! Oh shit! Don't kill me!" he screamed.

The communicator finally crackled to life and he heard Ritsuko's voice, "Sorry, we're having some comm troubles. The LCL won't kill you. In fact, it will keep you alive while your piloting the Eva. Once you inhale the LCL, your blood will be instantly oxygenated."

He didn't want to, he tried not to, but in the end he had to force himself to breathe it. It tasted like oil, or what oil would taste like if he ever did taste it. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Come on, you're a boy," he heard Misato say.

"You want to trade places?" he asked angrily.

"The power feed is ready," Ritsuko interrupted. "We're going to start the Eva now."

"Okay," Shinji said, readying himself. Nothing, however, could prepare him for the LCL he was submerged in to start glowing blue.

* * *

Yui slowly felt herself being restored to power. Putting herself in a self imposed stasis for ten years had not been good on many of her systems. Having been unused for a long time, her body felt sluggish and irresponsive. 

Then she realized that someone was inside of her, trying to sync.

Her son.

Shinji!

He had been dragged into this after all. She knew she couldn't do much yet, or she'd risk being decommissioned and taken apart, so she'd have to wait. But if her son was in trouble, then Primus help the enemy.

She paused at that thought. Who was Primus?

* * *

Shockwave finally changed back into his robot form and continued forward. It seemed that the humans had no more defenses to throw at him. 

Then he saw another robot stepping towards him, because of the shape and size, Shockwave mistook it for Megatron at first. But as the robot got closer, Shockwave noticed the many differences. He dived behind a building quickly as the robot raised its rifle and fired at him. Was this an Autobot?

No, there was no spark signature reading. It was the last defense the humans were sending against him: a piloted mech.

**Hypothesis: They reverse engineered the mech from Megatron.**

**Conclusion: Perversion. Destroy at all costs.**

Changing into his helicopter form, Shockwave hovered high above where he was once standing. The mech rounded the building, and then began to look around, confused.

**Like other humans, you often forget to look up.**

He transformed and dropped, extending his melee blade and cutting the rifle in half before engaging the mech in hand to hand combat. He was only slightly surprised when the mech reacted by drawing a small combat blade from a shoulder compartment.

Though the pilot of the mech fought well, Shockwave quickly gained the upper hand, snapping an elbow joint and smashing an optic. He stood over the fallen mech and scanned it long enough to verify that it was reverse engineered from Megatron, and then raised his gun to finish it off.

* * *

As soon as she felt her son go unconscious, Yui knew she needed to fight, but first she needed the energy. Thinking quickly, she drained the cockpit of it's Energon, knowing her son didn't need it any more. She instantly felt full of energy as her elbow joint healed instantly. Just as the enemy above her was about to deliver the finishing blow, she struck, driving her knife into her enemy's face. He staggered back, but she didn't stop there. She pressed her advantage, working like a surgeon, cutting, slicing, damaging, and searching for her enemy's spark. She found it soon enough, and plunged her blade in. 

Shockwave knew he had failed, knew he was dying, so he tried his last resort, and self destructed.

Yui shook the stars from her head. The enemy's self destruct had hardly dented her, but it did throw her into a building. Standing, realizing she was running low on power, she began to head for the nearest entrance shaft to NERV. On her way, she spotted a car, remembering from a long time ago.

* * *

**Flashback**

_"Mommy, when I get old enough, can I have that car?"_

_"We'll see, Shinji. We'll see."_

* * *

**End Flashback**

_Even if my son doesn't recognize me, I can still give him a gift_, Yui thought to herself. _He should be 16 soon, and I want to be there for him._ Focusing her good optic, she scanned the car, and then continued to NERV.

* * *

Author's Note: This is one of the longest chapters I have ever writen for anything. Don't expect every chapter to be this long. 

What should the car be. Any ideas?


	4. Sins of Our Fathers

Till All are One

Summary: Their war, our world. Some have come to protect us. The rest have come to destroy us. What neither side knew is that we knew they were coming. The battle begins again, and we are ready to fight back.

* * *

Chapter 3: Sins of Our Fathers

**NERV Command, Tokyo 3**

"Report," Commander Ikari ordered from behind his folded hands, unfazed by his cold, empty office.

The only other person in the room, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, Head of Project E, nodded. "After Pilot Ikari went unconscious, Unit 01 activated. It drained the LCL from the cockpit, using it to heal its elbow before butchering the target. After the target self destructed, Unit 01 proceeded to one of the entrance shafts, but not before stopping to look at a car on the side of the road.  
We're not sure what happened, but somehow the Eva… changed." She moved forward and placed a photo on his desk. "This was the Eva before the battle." She placed another photo over it, "This is the Eva now."

Gendo's eyebrows rose in surprise at what he saw, "Interesting."

* * *

**Tranquility High School, Tranquility 2**

"Will Samuel James Whitwicky please report to the office."

Sam sighed and stood. So far as he knew, he hadn't done anything wrong. Maybe Trent told a lie to get him in trouble again. It wouldn't be the first time.

"I want to see your report tomorrow, Sam," the teacher called as he headed for the door.

"No problem," he replied. The report was on his grandfather's grandfather, Captain Archibald Whitwicky, a man who somehow managed to outlive both his son and grandson while locked up in an asylum. Thankfully, he died during Second Impact. He had suffered enough.

He entered the office to see a man in a suit sitting down, a briefcase in his lap. The man turned to the principal, "I need to talk to him privately." The principal glared, but left anyway. "My name is Simmons, Sam. I'm with Sector 7, Advanced Research and Security. Have a seat. This could take a while."

Sam sat down, never once taking his eyes off Simmons. "What do you want?"

Simmons opened up his case and began setting up a laptop. "While you deserve to know this, Sam, you must understand that everything I say after this is Top Secret. You can't tell anyone. Your ancestor, Archibald Whitwicky made an important discovery the day he went insane. After exploring the Arctic Circle for years, he wanted to take one last adventure before he died. He chose to go to Antarctica, to try to reach the South Pole. In his insanity, he constantly mentioned a…"

"Giant Ice Man, I know," Sam interrupted. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Everything, don't interrupt," Simmons said. "This is where things get classified. Captain Whitwicky did find a Giant Ice Man. The discovery was classified Top Secret, and studies began. Every precaution was taken, in case this Giant Ice Man woke up, and wasn't friendly. Things went wrong in 2000 though. The official story is that a meteor struck Antarctica, melting it. In reality, Antarctica was accidentally destroyed by the military in as a last resort to stop the big guy when he did wake up. The Giant Ice Man had practically destroyed the entire facility before the detonation occurred. The explosion was never meant to be that strong. We underestimated the impact the Spear would have."

"Spear?" Sam asked.

"It was given several names. _Excalibur_¸ _Lance of Longinus_, _Spear of Doom_; it was reverse engineered from the Giant Ice Man's weapons, and was turned against him when he began destroying things. The energy output was several times greater than calculated."

"How do you know that the Giant Ice Man wasn't just afraid of us?" Sam asked.

"I knew you were going to ask that," Simmons said. "A satellite managed to recover some audio files during the breakout." He hit a key on his laptop.

"We're losing him."

"**Infidels! I will crush you!**"

"Cover fire!... Look out!"

"Let me go! Get him off me!"

"**You will die, when I tire of your screams.**"

Simmons stopped the recordings. "Obviously, being friendly was the last thing on his mind. He intended to destroy us all. The last thing the satellite managed to pick up was a signal the Ice Man sent right as he was destroyed. He was summoning others here, to destroy us. One was already repelled in Tokyo 3."

"I heard about that," Sam said. "The army failed, and it was stopped by another robot."

"The other robot was one of ours," Simmons explained. "Sector 7 is the American facility for the organization called NERV, created by SEELE and the UN to stop these NBE's: Non-Biological Extraterrestrials. We knew from combating the Ice Man, or NBE-1, that we needed a weapon equal to them to stop them. Project E took all the information to reverse engineer a Humanoid Battle Robot code named Evangelion to combat the NBE's. Unfortunately, in spite of everything we've done, only certain people can pilot them. We don't know why yet, but any attempt to the contrary has turned out… disastrous."

"I'm one of them, aren't I?" Sam asked.

Simmons nodded, "You don't have to say yes, but we need to ask you for your help. You will be paid, given room and board along with your family. You will have to move to Sector 7, and you won't have schooling out there, so we've arranged a series of computer tests and assignments that we'll oversee to ensure you get your mandatory education. On top of that you'll be trained for combat situations."

"If I say 'no'?" Sam asked, wanting to know.

"We leave you alone," Simmons answered. "But you still have to keep everything you've heard quiet for the rest of your life."

"I'll do it, on a few more conditions," Sam said. "My dad promised he'd buy me a car if I got an A on my report today, but now I won't be able to get it. Convince him to buy me a car, that's my first condition. Secondly, I have a classmate named Mikaela Banes. She's also lives nearby my house, and she's a real kick ass mechanic. Two days ago, her mom died, and her dad can't take her in. In one week, she's going to loose her house, most of her things, and her enrollment here at school."

"You want us to hire her?" Simmons asked.

"As a mechanic, yes," Sam answered. "She practically took apart my dad's car and put it back together once. She was able to fix his car without buying anything, just using the tools she had. Unfortunately, she's loosing everything because no one will hire her due to her juvenile record, one she only has because she turned her dad, who stole cars, in."

"We know about that," Simmons said.

"I'll help if you get me my car, offer her to come with, and delete her juvenile record permanently," Sam said.

"Deleting her record is borderline illegal," Simmons said.

Sam smiled, "No Sacrifice, No Victory."

"You're a real extortionist, you know that, kid?" Simmons returned the smile. "You have a deal." They shook hands. "Welcome to NERV and Sector 7, Sixth Child."

"Sixth?" Sam asked.

"Your code designation as an Evangelion Pilot," Simmons explained. "Let's go meet your dad, and then I'll talk to your friend."

* * *

**NERV Command, Tokyo 3**

"What was the car it looked at?" Gendo asked, looking up at Unit 01.

"A GTR Skyline," Ritsuko answered. "We even found this in the cockpit." She handed him a car key attached to a key chain that had what seemed to be a red button on it. Gendo pressed the button, which turned blue for a moment, and then blinked red as a buzzing sound came from the device. "Sir, you don't think…"

"It may be so," Gendo said. "This could be problematic. When will the Third Child wake up?"

"Hopefully tomorrow," Ristuko said.

"Have him test it when he does," Gendo ordered. "Make sure the Eva is in the middle of an empty room when he does, just in case."

* * *

**Bolivia Motors, Tranquility 2**

Sam felt deflated, "Dad, what is this? You said half a car, not half a piece of crap."

"When I was your age, I was happy with a motor and four wheels," Mr. Whitwicky answered.

"Have you ever seen 40 Year Old Virgin?" Sam asked.

"Yes."

"That's what that is," Sam said, pointing to a car, then turning, "And here's 50 year old virgin. Over there is 100."

"No Sacrifice, No Victory," his dad reminded him.

"Yea, the old Whitwicky motto," Sam muttered. "Got it."

"Gentlemen!" boomed a voice. A black man wearing Bermuda shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, a straw hat, and too many rings on his fingers came up to shake their hands. "Bobby B. Bolivia. What can I do for you, friends?"

"My son here," Mr. Whitwicky said, "Is looking to buy his first car."

"You came to see me?" Bobby asked.

"Had to," Sam said quietly.

"That probably makes us family," Bobby said, shaking Sam's hand. "Uncle Bobby B., baby. Uncle Bobby B." He led them toward a collection of cars. "Let me tell you something, son. The driver don't pick the car, the car pick the driver. It's a mystical bond between man and machine. I may be many things, but 'liar' ain't one of them, especially not in front of my Mammy." He pointed to an old woman in a lawn chair in front of the house next to the lot. "See there, that's my Mammy. Hey, Mammy!"

Bobby's Mammy simply gave him the finger.

"Aww! Don't be like that! If I had a rock I'd bust your head, bitch." He started to laugh, "Probably thought I was insulting her, she's deaf, see."

Sam turned his attention to a car that caught his eye. It was an old, yellow Camero with black racing stripes. "This one has racing stripes." He opened the door to climb in.

"Yea, it has… What? What the hell is this? I've never seen this before!"

Tuning out Bobby's shouting, Sam concentrated on the car. The leather seats felt old, but good. The steering wheel had a strange symbol in the center, but he liked it.

"How much?" he heard his dad ask.

"Considering the semi-classic nature of the vehicle, and the custom paint job…" Bobby began.

"The paint's faded," Sam interrupted.

"But its custom," Bobby reaffirmed.

"Its custom faded?" Sam asked, trying to convince for a better deal before Bobby made his offer.

"Five grand," Bobby said.

"No good," Mr. Whitwicky said. "Not paying a dollar over four."

"Deal," Sam said, climbing out and grabbing his wallet.

"Sam…" his dad began.

"Advance pay," Sam whispered. His dad nodded, reaching for his own wallet.

The Camero, who was in reality Bumblebee, mentally sighed in relief. He thought it would be harder.

Then again, Optimus really wouldn't mind…

He turned up his radio to a high frequency, laughing on the inside as the windows of every other car shattered.

"Four thousand!" Bobby shouted in panic.

_That's better_, Bumblebee thought. _Now I just have to send my report when I get the chance._


	5. On War's Horizon

Till All are One

Summary: Their war, our world. Some have come to protect us. The rest have come to destroy us. What neither side knew is that we knew they were coming. The battle begins again, and we are ready to fight back.

* * *

Chapter 4: On War's Horizon

**Medical Ward, NERV Command, Tokyo 3**

Shinji woke up and clutched his head. It felt like it had been in a vice for three days. Looking around, he realized he was in a hospital bed. The door opened, and Ritsuko walked in. "How are you feeling today?" she asked.

"I feel fine," Shinji replied. "How long was I out?"

"Not long," she answered. "Three days. Hurry and get dressed and then follow me. Some interesting things happened during the battle, and we need to do some tests."

"How many?" Shinji asked, not wanting to stay any longer than he needed to.

"If we're lucky, only one or two," was Ritsuko's reply.

After he got dressed, Shinji was led down one of NERV's many corridors by Ritsuko and Misato, who had come to see how he was doing. They turned a corner and Shinji ran right into something, causing him to land hard on his back.

"Ow," groaned a voice.

"First Child," Ritsuko said angrily, "How many times do I have to tell you to not run through these halls?"

"Gomen, Akagi-san," the voice replied. "Here, let me help you." Shinji took the hand that was offered and stood, finding himself face to face with a pale-skinned, blue-haired, red-eyed girl about his age wearing a school uniform.

"Who are you?" he asked. _She looks like that kid I saw twice._

She bowed politely, "My name is Rei Ayanami II. Nice to meet you, though I didn't mean for us to run into each other like that. Who are you?"

"Shinji Ikari," he replied, bowing in return.

He suddenly found himself in a rather tight hug as she squeezed the breath out of him. "Thank you so much for what you did. You were very brave. I can only sync with Unit 00 and they would have tried to use me in Unit 01 anyway if you had not piloted. I owe you one. Don't worry, I'll make it up to you somehow."

"Ayanami, as cute as this is, I think you're suffocating him," Misato interrupted. It was true. Shinji couldn't breathe in, as Rei's grip was so tight she would probably crack his ribs if it was any tighter.

"Gomen, Ikari-san," Rei apologized again, letting Shinji go. Shinji took in deep breaths, trying to restore oxygen to his body.

"I'm all right," he told her, giving her a smile. She smiled back, a large, friendly smile. For a brief moment, Shinji's heart stopped, and he just wanted to stay there, swimming in the warmth of her smile.

The moment was quickly ruined by the speakers as they blared, "Will the First Child report to the Commander's office immediately. You are five minutes late."

"Oh no! I have to go! Perhaps I will see you at school, Ikari-san. Bye!" Rei sped off.

"No Running!" Ritsuko called after her as the bluehead rounded a corner. The doctor huffed with impatience. "That girl!"

"Who is she?" Shinji asked.

"The First Child," Ritsuko answered. "She pilots Unit 00, the prototype, but there were some major difficulties before the attack, so it couldn't be launched. Hopefully, we'll have the problems fixed by the next attack."

"She's a bit aggressively friendly too," Misato answered. Shinji bit back a 'no duh'. "Whenever she gets inside Unit 00 though, it's like she's a different person."

* * *

**Nevada Desert, En route to Vegas Air Force Base**

Several transport helicopters headed toward the Air Force Base located in the Vegas Desert. Before Second Impact, Las Vegas was one of the most popular cities in the world. Now, it was buried under 100 ft. of sand, and the surrounding area was mostly inhospitable. The only acceptation was a small oasis about 100 miles from the Vegas ruins. It was here that the Vegas Air Force Base was located; in the middle of nowhere were only the best soldiers get deployed.

In one transport helicopter rode Sam, his mom and dad, and Mikaela. Though his parents had been sad about leaving the home they had worked on for so long, they were proud of what their son was doing. Sam himself felt excited and nervous; excited that Mikaela came, and nervous that he'd do something stupid in front of her and embarrass himself. Mikaela was glad that she had taken the job. When they left Tranquility 2, one of the chopper's engines failed, and she had gotten a chance to show them just how good of a mechanic she was. Impressed with how well she fixed the chopper, Simmons had given her a folder on Evangelion Unit 04, so she could join the crew that worked on it.

In another chopper rode Bumblebee, bored out of his wits due to the fact that he was the only sentient being in a cargo bay filled with cars: Sam's parents', Simmons', and two military hummers. He began to pray to Primus that he'd get out of here soon.

In the lead transport helicopter was a military squad, laughing and trading jokes. They were all surprised that they were being dispatched to the middle of nowhere with their battle record, until they heard that Vegas Air Force Base defended the secret facility deep underneath.

One of the soldiers, Figg, sighed, "Man, after six months of this, I can't wait to get a little taste of home. Some of momma's alligator…"

"All you've been talking about for the past two weeks is barbecued gators and crickets!" interrupted another soldier, Epps. "I'm never coming over to your momma's house!"

"But, alligator… you have to try it…" Figg switched to his native Spanish.

Epps rolled his eyes, "English. Please."

The Captain of the squad, Will Lennox, interrupted, "How many times do we have to say it? We don't speak Spanish."

Figg was rather put off, "You're going to hold that against me? That's where I come from; that's my heritage."

Will sighed, "Fine, keep the Spanish."

"Hey!" another soldier said. "You remember Quatar? Nights at the spa?"

"How about you Captain?" Epps asked. "Do you have a perfect day?"

"I just can't wait to hold my little girl in my arms for the first time," Will said, a dreamy look on his face. The other soldiers laughed, and Will couldn't help but grin at their teasing, "Shut up!"

Upon landing at the base, Simmons led Sam, Mikaela, and Will's team toward a elevator. They piled in and began their decent.

"So, everyone knows what their going to do here, right?" Simmons asked.

"Actually, sir, all I know is that my team was told to be deployed here," Will said.

Simmons shrugged, "That's all right, Captain. Your job is to protect these two." He motioned towards Sam and Mikaela. "You heard about the Tokyo 3 attack, correct?"

"Yes sir," Will answered.

"The Vegas Air Force Base is constructed over Sector 7, the American NERV facility," Simmons explained. "We've been constructing a weapon to counter our enemies, and Sam here is going to pilot it."

"I've heard about that," Figg said. "It's called Evalin?"

"Evangelion," Simmons corrected. "It's designed to combat our enemies, Non-biological extraterrestrials, in hand to hand combat. Unfortunately, that makes it susceptible to saboteurs, terrorists, and anyone else that doesn't like NERV, which is a long list unfortunately."

"So, we're on guard duty, then?" Epps asked.

"Your record as a team is highly commendable, so you will actually be the official escorts of Unit 04, its pilot, and technician." The elevator finally came to a stop, and they stepped out. Simmons led them down a corridor until they reached a large hanger. "Here it is."

Several members of Lenox's team whistled at the sight of the Evangelion. Will himself noticed weapon packs on the shoulders and legs.

Sam's eyes widened in horror, "You want me to pilot _that_?"

Simmons raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

"IT'S PINK!"

Laughter rang out through the hanger, and Mikaela was kind enough to explain to Sam that it was only the undercoat, and that the actual paint job would be yellow.

* * *

Shinji looked at the key in his hand, and then back at Ritsuko, "So you have no idea what will happen if I press this?"

"None," she replied. "That's why we cleared the test chamber."

It was true, as they were the only ones there aside from Unit 01, which stood in the middle of the room.

_Well, here goes nothing_, he thought, and pressed the button. It lit up again, but instead of turning red, it glowed green. It was obviously bio-keyed for his use only. The sound of shifting metal caused them both to stare as the Evangellion bent down on its hands and knees, armor plates shifting here and there. When it was done, Shinji and Ritsuko were staring at Shinji's favorite car, a Nissan Skyline.

"Looks like we'll have to let you keep Unit 01 with you, if you stay here that is."

When he first came to Tokyo 3, Shinji intended to go home in less than 24 hours. Now that he'd met Rei and had his own car that turned into a giant robot, staying didn't sound so bad anymore.


	6. More Than Meets the Eye

Till All are One

Summary: Their war, our world. Some have come to protect us. The rest have come to destroy us. What neither side knew is that we knew they were coming. The battle begins again, and we are ready to fight back.

* * *

Chapter 5: More Than Meets the Eye

**Tokyo 3**

"Misato, you don't have to do this," Shinji said for the umpteenth time as he stared out the window of the car.

"Nonsense," the older woman insisted. "After what you did, you don't deserve to live in some dreary old barracks. Besides, how else are you going to school?"

"Do I have to?" Shinji groaned. Like most kids his age, he dreaded school since they only seemed to talk about Second Impact over and over again.

"Yes, you do," Misato answered. "How else are you supposed to get an education?"

_What education?_ Shinji wanted to ask. Instead, he asked, "So how come I couldn't drive my own car, now that I have one?"

Misato sighed, "Two reasons. One: it's currently undergoing some minor repairs while Ritsuko checks it over. Two: you don't have a driver's license yet. How do I know you're going to drive safely?"

Shinji blew her a raspberry, unfazed as she swerved around another car. _You're one to talk_, he thought. _How do I know you're not going to kill me with how badly you drive?

* * *

_

**NERV, Sector 7**

**Evangelion Unit 4 Combat Chamber**

"Okay, kid," Simmons said. "You ready to give this a try?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Sam replied. "This plugsuit feels weird."

"Trust me when I say it's a necessity," Simmons said. "The last person who tried without a plugsuit ruined their clothes, and got electrocuted badly."

"What happened to him?" Sam asked.

"Her," Simmons corrected leading Sam toward Unit 04. "She was the test pilot for Unit 02 in Germany. She suffered heavy brain damage; irreversible. Eventually, she ended up committing suicide, leaving her daughter behind. Surprisingly enough, her daughter was compatible with Unit 02, so we were able to train her in her mother's place."

"Any idea why only certain people can pilot the Eva's?" Sam asked.

"None," Simmons replied. "This is where I leave you." He turned and went through a door while Sam continued toward the cockpit entrance on the back of the mech. He was really glad they had finished painting it. His father had said that the yellow with red stripes made the Eva look badass. Unfortunately, his color-matching plugsuit received the remark, 'Fruity'.

Mikaela was waiting for him next to the entrance. "Are you ready?"

"I'm nervous," he answered. "But I can do this."

To Sam's surprise, she leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek, whispering, "For luck," before hurrying through the same door as Simmons. Sam stood there for a while, and then grinned and climbed into the mech.

The cockpit sealed behind him as he sat down. He took a hold of the butterfly controls and took a few deep breaths as his heart raced. He heard the sound of liquid pouring in, and knew it was LCL. It tasted horrible, but it was better than nothing.

"Starting connection sequence. Sequence… Not responding. We can't start the Eva. We're getting nothing!

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"Sam, get out of the cockpit," Mikaela said. "I need to look at something."

He did as she asked and stood there, waiting for her. She soon entered the chamber and crawled into the cockpit. "I think we have some loose wiring here. Sam, can you hold a flashlight for me?" She handed him one, and he held it, watching her as she worked. "Everything looks fine here. Oh! Wait! Right here!" She reached for the wire.

The second her hand touched it, the cockpit, the Eva, everything suddenly turned blue. Fire seemed to be spreading all over her. She felt like she was being pulled, squeezed into a small tunnel, and then everything went black.

"Mikaela!"

* * *

**NERV Command**

**Tokyo 3**

Just because the tests were 'necessary' didn't mean that Yui had to like them. The minute they were done poking and prodding her to try and make her return to her robot form, they finally gave up and placed her in the garage. The minute she was alone, she started up. As she drove to the surface, she brought up the internet and noticed a EBay page with a familiar picture on it. Her son was updating his profile, username Unknown6437, and she was able to pinpoint his new location.

_The_ _Katsuragi woman's place,_ she thought. _I wonder what will happen when he sees what a slob she is_. Just because she had been in stasis for 10 years, didn't mean that she hadn't been aware of some things. She had made a habit of checking the MAGI for information about NERV every time they hooked her up to the supercomputer.

Shinji sighed as he melted into the hot water of his bath. It felt good, especially after he cleaned up the apartment of it's filth. He made Misato help, but it was still taxing on him. He had called his uncle to tell him he was staying. At first, his uncle protested, until Shinji mentioned meeting Rei. Then he had to hang up on his uncle before the teasing began.

As he lay there in the tub, Shinji noticed something that didn't belong to him in the water. He grabbed it, and it turned out to be a penguin. He was so shocked, he didn't move until the penguin had already wiggled out of his hands and left the room. Then he drained the water and turned on the shower to make sure there was no trace of penguin anything on him. He went to his room without a word and fell asleep. His dreams were filled by the bluehead he had met that day, and as a result, he needed another shower when he awoke.

After a fresh shower, he checked his face for facial hair. There was a faint shadow, he'd have to start shaving in a few months he guessed. He got dressed for the day, noticing Misato had yet to get up. He cooked breakfast, meeting the penguin yet again. He got the penguin some fish he found, finished cooking, and had started eating when Misato dragged her body into the kitchen, half dressed. Shinji paid no attention to her. One good thing that had come from his Depression was that he could instantly shut out people at will, unable to hear, see, or smell them until he wanted to. Even when she chugged her beer and let out a whoop, Shinji still ignored her. He didn't even notice her getting up to answer a ringing phone.

The doorbell rang, and Shinji went to get it to see a cop standing there. "Sorry to bother you," the cop said, "But do you recognize that car?" Shinji looked to where he was pointing to see the familiar Nisan form of Unit 01 in the parking lot.

"Shinji!" Misato yelled. "We have to get to NERV right now! Rits just called! Unit 01's been stolen!"

"Misato it's right there!" Shinji replied. Misato stepped out onto the apartment doorstep, still half dressed. The cop blushed, but Misato didn't notice.

"How did it get here?"

* * *

**NERV, Sector 7**

**Medical Wing**

Mikaela woke up groggy. The beeping of the medical machines next to her was rather annoying. As her eyesight came back, she noticed a familiar red and yellow clad figure asleep on her shoulder sitting down next to her bed.

"Sammm, wakeup," she said, her words annoyingly slurred. They did the trick though, as he woke up and called the doctor and Simmons in. "Whathappened?"

"Electrical shock," Simmons answered. "Enough voltage that the test chamber shut down. You're lucky to be alive. The fact that you're recovering so quickly is nothing short of a miracle."

"Legs," Mikaela muttered.

"What?" the doctor asked.

"Cantfeelthemmm," Mikaela said. "Legs."

The doctor lightly tapped her legs, "Did you feel that?" Mikaela shook her head. A slap on her legs followed, answered by another shake. The doctor instantly pushed Sam and Simmons out of the room so he could perform some tests.

* * *

**NERV, Sector 7**

**Briefing Room**

"What?" Mikaela finally asked, seeing as everyone in the room was confused. She sat in a wheelchair next to Sam, who sat next to his parents, who sat next to Simmons. Two more of Sector 7's command staff and Captain Lenox were present, as well as the doctor who had called them all in and announced her diagnosis.

Said doctor huffed in annoyance, "Neural-Entropic Outsourced Network, or NEON, Syndrome. I know it sounds strange, but it is a real – and very rare – disease. An electric shock of high voltage that causes the reconstruction of brain connections, telepathically connecting the afflicted to something else other than their body. As a result, they loose all activity in some areas of their brain, and their body as a result. Mikaela has lost activity in the areas that involve speech and leg movement."

"Connected to what?" Simmons asked.

"Anything in the test chamber," the doctor answered. "It is treatable, but the only places that have the ability to do so would be the NERV facility in Germany, and NERV Command in Japan. I personally would go with Germany, as the Second Child is a NEON subject."

"Anything else you have for us?" Simmons asked.

The doctor shook his head, "Sorry, but that's all I can find. NERV Command has locked down all the other files. Top Secret; Classification Red Type 2."

Simmons stood, "Contact NERV Command. Until we have those files and can verify Mikaela's condition, the Test Chamber stays locked down. No one goes anywhere near Unit 04. Lenox, you and your team will begin training Sam in combat and firearms in the meantime. Let Mikaela join in with what she can do as well. Once we have this mess sorted out, we'll meet again. Dismissed."

Sam offered to wheel Mikaela to the elevator that led to the surface. As they walked, surrounded by Lenox's team – who were taking their job very seriously after what had just happened – he leaned forward and whispered, "Sorry about what happened."

"Sokay," Mikaela replied, still slightly annoyed by her slurred speech, even though she couldn't do anything about it. "Nochyourfawlt."

"If there's anything I can do to help you, just tell me," he said. "I'm the one who dragged you into this in the first place."

In reply, she pointed to a restroom. While she couldn't use her legs, she did (thankfully) have bowel control.

* * *

**NERV Command, Japan**

**Garage**

"It just moved on its own? How?" Misato asked.

"I don't know," Ritsuko answered. "That's just what we saw on the cameras."

Curious, Shinji reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. "Maybe a homing device," he suggested, pressing the button on the chain. It lit up blue, and then flashed green like it was supposed to. Across the garage, the Nisan Skyline that was Unit 01 suddenly started up and rolled forward until the driver's side door opened next to Shinji, the motor running and ready. "Cool!"

"I heard he cleaned your dump up, Misato. Perhaps he accidentally pressed it," Ritsuko said. "If you had just kept your apartment clean, there wouldn't have been a problem."

"Now don't go blaming this on me!" Misato protested.

Shinji tuned the two of them out and climbed into his new car, closing the door. He placed his hands on the steering wheel, liking the feel. The radio came on without his prompting.

_"You can talk all you want._

_ You can talk, talk, talk, talk, bicker, bicker,…"_

Smiling, he turned it off, not bothering to wonder why it came on or was playing _The Music Man_ in the first place.


	7. Learning to Cope

Till All are One

Summary: Their war, our world. Some have come to protect us. The rest have come to destroy us. What neither side knew is that we knew they were coming. The battle begins again, and we are ready to fight back.

* * *

Chapter 6: Learning to Cope

_I'm thirteen and I can drive! Eat that, suckers!_

That was the first thing Shinji thought as he pulled into the parking lot of his new school. Misato had managed to pull a few strings to get him an early license, which Shinji was grateful for. His Uncle had taught him how to drive when he was 10. Now it didn't matter that he was the new guy in class. He had a car, and he could drive it.

Naturally, a few spitballs and rubber bands went his way before the class president put an end to them, but Shinji didn't mind too much. Dodging bullies was almost second nature to him, since he preferred to stay out of fights. Things changed during lunch when they found out that he owned his own car. Everyone began asking if they could drive it around the parking lot. He tried to deflect their requests, but they persisted until he lost his patience.

"Listen!" he shouted. "I'm the only one who can drive it because it's actually an Evangelion unit that's bio-keyed to my DNA!" They found that out when Misato tried to drive it, only to have the seat tip sideways and dump her unceremoniously out an opening door and onto the ground.

He had hoped that people would leave him alone after that, but it wasn't to be. Now knowing him to be the pilot of the mech that had saved them several days ago, everyone was suddenly trying to hug him. He began to break mentally. He couldn't handle being smothered by the crowd around him.

Seeing the predicament he was in, Rei Ayanami sighed, stuck her fingers in the corners of her mouth, and blew hard. Her sharp, piercing whistle made them stop and cover their ears in pain, turning to look at her. "In case you didn't notice, he wants to be left alone," she stated. Slowly, the crowd dispersed, knowing that if they didn't, Rei would whistle again.

Shinji gave her a grateful look, "Thanks. That was starting to freak me out."

"Don't thank me just yet," she told him. "You're starting combat training this afternoon, and I won't be going easy on you."

* * *

**NERV, Sector 7**

A shot rang out through the targeting range, but the target remained untouched.

"No good. You need to relax, Sam," Epps said. "Getting tense like that kills your aim."

"Sorry," Sam muttered. "I'm not used to guns. I took karate when I was five though."

"That'll help, but you need to know how to shoot your targets too. Even if you don't kill them, it can give you the upper hand in physical combat if you wound them," Epps encouraged. "After all, some of them are going to be shooting at you anyway."

"Now that's comforting," Sam grunted sarcastically.

Mikaela snickered, "Lemeetry." Sam shrugged, handing her the rifle, goggles, and earmuffs. She wheeled herself into the block and pointed the rifle down the range. Hardly a second passed before she fired all ten rounds without pause. All ten of the targets now had holes right through the center.

Sam sighed, "Great! I can't shoot to save my life and my half crippled girlfriend can shoot better than me." He paused, an idea shooting into his head faster than a bullet from the rifle he was using. "Hey, Mikaela, doesn't the Eva use brainwaves to work?"

"Yea," she nodded. "Why?"

"Then why can't we use Unit 04 to stimulate your legs, or at least find out where your brain's connecting to instead?"

Epps looked thoughtful and pulled out his radio, "That just might work. Give me a sec."

* * *

**NERV Command, Japan**

**Combat Arena**

"OWW!" Shinji yelled. Yui silently agreed, as Unit 00's foot came down on her chest plate again, pinning her, and – by proxy – her son, on the ground of NERV's Combat Arena.

"You need to be faster than that, Ikari," Rei sighed. "I doubt our opponents will be as forgiving as us." Unit 00 stepped back to let the reformatted Eva to move.

"You mean, you're going easy on me?" Shinji asked as he willed the Eva to get back up. Yui struggled to obey his mental commands. It was as if there was a time lag between them.

"Have you ever taken any self defense lessons?" Rei asked back, ignoring his question.

_I did_, Yui thought.

Shinji shook his head, "No."

Rei leaned back in her own Eva, ignoring anything else as she projected her thoughts. --_What do you think, Zero?--_

--_They are not moving together,--_ her Eva answered. --_They have the same will, but lack the understanding necessary to think as one.--_

"Hello? Earth to Pilot Ayanami. Anyone home?" Misato asked.

Shaking her head, she pulled herself out of the 'Deep Sync' to answer, "Sorry, I was just thinking for a minute."

"More like five," Misato snorted. "I've been asking if you wanted to go one more round. Why did your sync ratio shoot up so high?"

Rei shrugged, "Side effect of my thoughts, perhaps." She didn't want anyone else to know about Zero just yet. "I think we should call it a day. Ikari can't fight well because he isn't synchronizing properly. I'd like to take him to see my sister tomorrow. She can help."

Ritsuko, who was monitoring the test alongside Misato inwardly winced. A deep rift existed between the Ayanami family and Commander Ikari, bad enough that Rei sometimes showed open hostility towards the latter. She was one of the few people who knew why. "I don't know if the Commander will approve that, Rei," she said.

"Since when does he care?" Rei asked, voice cold enough to make the temperature drop 10 degrees.

_"He can go stick his head in a bull's *whistle*"_

"Shinji!" Misato exclaimed, shocked.

"That wasn't me, Misato," he said quickly. He stared at the controls in front of him. In its new bipedal form, Unit 01 had a rather fancy cockpit. The steering wheel split to form the standard butterfly controls, the gas and break pedals became foot controls, and the dashboard stacked up just below his line of sight and changed displays to create an interesting console that displayed his vitals, the LCL pressure, his sync ratio, and a vast number of things he had yet to try out. Apparently, the radio and sound system remained as well. "The radio's been acting funny all day," he explained.

"You expect me to believe that?" Misato asked suspiciously.

"I believe it," Rei said, coming to his rescue. "It played 'Can't Touch This' in the parking lot after school when our female classmates tried to hitch a ride, and maybe more."

_And that trick probably earned me my horns_, Yui mentally grinned.

Ringing alarms cut off the argument and Misato cursed. "Two contacts just appeared at Tokyo-2 Naval Base!" she shouted, reading the reports as the MAGI streamed them in. "Sorry to do this to you two, but we need to move fast!"

* * *

**NERV, Sector 7**

**Test Chamber 4**

Mikaela shifted uneasily in Unit 04's cockpit. Though all visuals had been turned off, she still felt uncomfortable, which was understandable considering her nudity. Without a fitting plug suit and unable to wear normal clothes this was the only way they could try their experiment. Thankfully, Judy Whitwicky was kind enough to help her get inside the contraption.

"Standby, Mikaela," Simmons' voice said over the comm. "Activation in 3... 2... 1... Borderline... Borderline passed! Unit 04 is active!"

She felt it as soon as he said it. Her vision changed, giving her a perfect view of the test chamber. She was seeing things just as the Eva was seeing them, and feeling them too. Unable to stop the tears, she cried out in joy, "I can feel my legs, Sam! It worked! I can feel my legs!"

Simmons frowned slightly thinking, _If she's able to pilot, why wasn't she on the Marduk Report?_ Out loud, he said, "Well, this puts us two steps forward and one step back. One Eva that only responds to one of two pilots." His phone rang, and he picked it up. "This is Simmons... Oh hell!" Shutting off the phone he tapped the controls at his terminal. "All personnel, this is Simmons! Code Red, we have a Situation Alpha! Repeat: Code Red! Situation Alpha!" Tossing off his headset, he turned to Captain Lennox, "Get the kids out of here now!"

Sam nearly panicked as he hurried to help his mom and Mikaela. Situation Alpha meant one thing: terrorists had infiltrated Sector Seven, which would only happen if they were after the Evangellion or the pilots. They had to get out of there fast.


End file.
